Clamp jig and nailer



Nov. 26, 1963 L. KELLER 3,112,105

CLAMP JIG AND NAILER Filed Feb. 5, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. L 50 KELLER fwwx H/S A 7' TORNEVS Nov. 26, .1963 L. KELLER CLAMP JIG AND NAILER 2 sheets-shes; 2

Filed Feb. 5, 1962 INVEIVTOR. LEO KELLER QM A. V RV.

United States Patent 3,112,105 CLAMP .116 AND NAILER I Leo Keller, Santa Clara, Calif., assignor to Pemline Mfg. (30., Santa filara, Calif. Filed Feb. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 171,05h 13 (Q1. 269-436) This invention relates to a clamp and jig arrangement for holding pro-assembled parts together incident to the securing thereof into an assembled unit.

The present invention is more particularly related to a clamp and jig combined with a nailer so disposed as to facilitate concealed nailing of the parts as they are held in juxtaposition by the clamp and jig.

The jig clamp and nailer of the present invention is most useful in the assembly of cabinets such as wardrobes, shelving and particularly kitchen cabinets and the like. The device of the present invention has brought about an innovation in the woodworking art of cabinet construction. By its use the manufacturer is able to pre-out the parts of cabinets and to so sub-assemble such parts that they may be stored and kept in a flat condition to thereby conserve warehousing and floor space. Such sub-assemblies of parts are pretty well standardized by modularizing so that when an order for cabinets comes in it is a simple matter to select sub-assembled parts of matching Woods and quickly assemble them into finished cabinets ready for shipment to the point of installation. In its simplest form such a prefabricated knocked down cabinet consists of a back wall, side walls and a front which is a frame including a sill, side stiles and a head. The parts of the front frame are pro-assembled and ready to receive dors by way of hinges of any style selected.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a jig to receive the front, side and back of a cabinet and to clampingly hold such cabinet parts together incident to securing them into a finished unitary structure.

It is another object to provide :a clamp, jig and a mailer for holding the nailer relative to cabinet parts held by the clamp and jig so as to secure the cabinet parts together automatica ly during the clamping action and positioning of the cabinet parts by the jig.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description in the light of the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of the clamp jig and nailer embodying the present invention and shown holding parts of a cabinet incident to nailing.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the front end of the clamp jig holding a door frame stile only which is also fragmentarily shown.

PEG. 3 is another enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the front end of the clamp jig showing the door stile clamp open and from the side opposite to that shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top plan View of the clamp jig and nailer of the present invention with parts broken away for purposes of illustration.

FIG. 5 is an inside elevational View of the left end only of the device as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan of the right end only of the device as shown in FIG. 4 and with parts thereof in cabinet clamping condition.

FIG. 7 is a vertical section through the front frame clamping jaw of FIG. 4 and taken substantially along line 7-7 thereof.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one end of a cabinet of the type held, assembled and nailed with the clamp jig and nails of the present invention.

Referring first to FIG. 8 of the drawings, a cabinet C is shown to include a front wall F an end wall E and a back ice B. The front wall F constitutes a frame having a pair of side stiles, one of which is shown at S. The front frame also includes a bottom or sill and a top or head all of which are secured together as a sub-assembly ready for attachment to the end walls E and back B of a cabinet.

These sub-assemblies and particularly the front wall frame -F are stored in stock, finish painted, and ready for use. The sub-assembled cabinet parts are kept in stock in a knocked down condition so that they can be stored in side by side relation to thereby save floor and/or warehousing space. When an order for a set of cabinets comes in, matching parts are selected and placed on an assembly line for securing together.

It is with this final assembly of cabinets that the tool embodying the present invention is concerned. The present invention contemplates diagonal nailing of the subassemblies for purposes of concealing the effects of the nailing upon the wooden parts.

in coimection with concealed nailing it will be noted in FIGS. 1 and 6 that the stile S is rabbeted as at r adjacent its back face and outer edge. In other words, the rabbet r provides a surface X, say, about inch from the side edge y of the stile adapted to be aligned with the rough outer face of the end wall E. Consequently when the end wall E is secured to the stile S by a nail N driven diagonally, as shown in FIG. 6, a th inch thick outer layer or skin of finished wood can be glued to the rough outer face X of end wall E and lap over into the rabbet r to conceal or cover the holes left by the inset nails N. In this manner no puttying or refinishing of the cabinet is necessary after the cabinet is completely assembled.

The present invention is embodied in a combined jig and clamp upon which a nailer is mounted in such a position as to uniformly nail or secure the sub-assembly of a cabinet together.

The device of the present invention, generally designated 1% in the drawings, comprises a clamp 11 which will ext-end from front to back of the cabinet C. The clamp 11 is built to embrace the back and front walls 5 and 'F of a cabinet for holding them firmly against the front and back edges of the end wall E incident to nailing thereof. The clamp 161 is further characterized by the fact that it serves as a jig for automatically gauging and positioning the back, front and end walls relative to each other.

The clamp 11 is C-shaped in that it comprises a fixed front jaw 12 and a movable back jaw 13 joined by a side arm 14.

The front jaw 12; is perpendicular to the side arm 1-4 and together therewith forms a rigid L-shaped squaring means for the front and side walls of the cabinet parts. In this connection it will be noted that the front jaw 12 forms the back of a stile holding clamp 15' which includes an inside jaw 16 pivotally mounted as at 17 in a slotted mid-portion of the front jaw 12. The inside jaw 16 is thus adapted to swing from and toward the front jaw 12 to admit and hold the stile S of the front wall F. Means 18 is provided for manually moving the inside jaw 16 into stile holding position relative to the fixed jaw 12.

The back jaw 13 of the clamp 11 is pivotally mounted as at 19 on the extreme end of the side arm 14 so as to be movable toward and from the cabinet parts. Means 20 is provided for manually moving the back jaw 13 into engagement with the back wall B of a cabinet. In this connection the fore end 21 of the side arm 14 of the clamp 11 is fork shaped as best illustrated in FIG. 5.

The front jaw 12 is perpendicular to the side arm 14 of the clamp to thereby provide a squaring means be tween a front and side of cabinet parts placed therein. A handle 25 extends forwardly from the front jaw 12. The handle 25 is fixedly secured to a plate 26 which is in turn secured to jaw 12 as by welding. This handle 25 is slightly beyond mid-point of the jaw 12 so as to provide a balanced connection therewith convenient to the handling and manipulation of the entire clamp 11.

The fore end 21 of the arm 14 of the clamp 11 is fork shaped in the region of the jaw 12 to receive and support one end of a mailer 28. The nailer 28 is set at any desired angle relative to the arm 14 so as to drive a nail diagonally relative to the clamp 11. The fork shaped part 21 of the arm 14 consists of a pair of flat tines 29 and 29 having their ends secured to the fixed jaw 12 of the clamp. These tines 29 and 29' are spaced from each other sufiicient to bear against the sides of the nail driving end of the nailer 28 (see FIG. 2). The nailer 28 is permanently fixed to the tines 29-29' by bolts or welding as desired. In the present disclosure the nailer 28 is shown set at a 45 angle relative to the arm 14. The opposite ends of the tines 29 and 29' are joined by a cross bar or bight 31 from which a tubular sleeve 32 extends rearwardly toward the back jaw 13. The sleeve 32 is welded to the cross bar 31 midway between the ends thereof, the cross bar 31 being provided with a bore through which a rod 33 extends for sliding movement co-axially of the sleeve 32.

The jaw 13 is mounted on a trunnioned rearward extension 35 of a back plate 36 to which the aft end of the sleeve 32 is secured by welding. The back plate 36 which is at the end of sleeve 32 is disposed parallel to the fixed front jaw 12 and has one end 37 disposed to engage the rough outer surface X of the end wall E of a cabinet disposed in the clamp 11.

The movable back jaw 13 is pivoted as at 19 on the trunnioned extension 35 and is so disposed on the latter as to assume parallel relation to the back plate 36 when the jaw 13 engages behind the back wall B of the cabinet disposed in the clamp (FIG. 4). The movable back jaw 13 is operatively connected to the aft end of the rod 33 which is disposed to slide in the sleeve 32.

As best seen in FIG. 4 a guide collar 38 is secured within the sleeve 32 a short distance from its aft end. This collar 33 guides the aft end of the rod 33 for movement axially of the sleeve. A compression spring 39 is mounted on the rod 33 and the collar 38 forms a fixed base for the compression spring 39, the opposite or aft end of which bears against an enlargement on the rod 33 in the form of a pusher finger 40 to force the latter rearwardly of the end of sleeve 32. This pusher finger 40 bears against the inner forward face of the movable jaw 13 to force the latter into open position, i.e., out of parallelism and away from the back plate 36. The rod 33 extends through a slot formed through the movable jaw 13 and a cam rod 41 secured to the aft end of the rod 33 bears against the jaw 13 to force the latter into cabinet clamping position when the rod 33 is pulled forwardly. The rod 33 is pulled forwardly by a lever 42 forming a part of the means 20 for moving the jaw 13.

The lever 42 is pivotally mounted as at 43 in the slotted portion of the front jaw 12 so as to extend forwardly therefrom adjacent the handle 25. The lever 42 has a dog leg 44 extending laterally therefrom substantially parallel to the front face of the jaw 12 so that the free end 45 of the leg 44 is just ahead of the forked end 21 of the clamp arm 14. A pair of pull rods 4646 have their fore ends pivotally connected as at 47 to the free end 45 of the dog leg 44 on lever 42. These pull rods 46-46 extend rearwardly outside the flat tines 2929 respectively of the forked end 21 of the clamp arm 14.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and the aft ends of the pull rods 4646' are secured to the respective ends of a cross bar 48 which extends through guide slots 49-43 formed in the respective tines 29-29 of the fork 21. The mid portion of this cross bar 48 is provided with a bore through which the threaded fore end 50 of the rod 33 extends and a pair of nuts 51-51 on the threaded end 569 secure the rod 33 to the cross bar 48.

From the foregoing it will he noted that a downward pressure upon the lever 42 causes the tie rods 46-46 to be drawn forwardly. With this action the cross bar 48 slides forwardly in the guide slots 49-49 and pulls the rod 33 which in turn draws the movable jaw 13 forwardly to engage the back wall B of a cabinet disposed in the clamp.

Referring now to the stile holding clamp 15, previously mentioned, this clamp includes the fixed jaw 12, which forms the back of the stile clamp 15. It also includes the adjacent right angle portion 54 of the main arm 14 of the clamp 11, which is the fixed jaw of the stile clamp 15. The movable jaw of the stile clamp 15 is the inside jaw 16 which is pivotally mounted at 17 on the main jaw 12 a distance from the portion 54 of the main arm 14.

As best seen in FIG. 3 the back 12 of stile clamp 15 includes an elongated plate 55 forming another fixed jaw of the stile clamp 15. This plate 55 provides an elongated jaw face, flush with the inner surface of the fixed back 12 for engaging and aligning the front face of a stile S transversely of the stile clamp 15.

The movable inside jaw 16 has formed thereon a stepped inner face providing one surface 56 disposed to become parallel to the plate 55 and another surface 57 disposed to become parallel to the fixed jaw portion 54 of the stile clamp 15. It will be noted in FIGS. 1 and 4 that the faces of plate 55, fixed jaw 54 and surfaces 56 and 57 are so disposed as to form a box-like clamp which will embrace the entire stile S except for that face thereof which abuts the front edge of the end wall E of the cabinet parts to be held.

The extreme end 58 of the jaw 16 which girds the inside face of a stile S so terminates as to provide a surface 59 for engaging the inner face of the end wall E and to bear against the same to force the end wall toward the back arm 14 of the main clamp 11. As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the portion of the jaw 16 including surfaces 56, 57 and 59 is broadest to obtain good surface contact with the cabinet parts to be engaged thereby.

The jaw 16 further includes a narrow spinal rib or web portion 60 which extends down the back of the jaw 16 terminating in a boss 61 which extends forwardly into a slot 62 formed in the fixed jaw 12. In FIG. 4 it will be noted that it is the fore end or boss 61 of the web 60 through which a pivot pin extends from the adjacent walls of member 12 to provide the previously mentioned pivotal connection 17 for the jaw 16.

The web portion 60 also has a concave cam surface 63 formed thereon between the boss 61 and the back of the web portion 60. This cam surface 63 is confined within the slot 62 in engagement with a cam roller 64 pivotally mounted as at 64' on the heel or corner of a lever 65. The lever 65 extends forwardly from the fixed jaw 12 adjacent the stationary handle 25. The inner or foot portion 66 of the lever 65 is narrowed to fit into the slot 62 in jaw 12 to dispose the roller 64 in a position to engage the cam surface 63. The toe end of the foot portion 66 is also disposed in the slot 62 and is pivotally mounted on a pin '64 to afford swinging movement of the cam roller 64 toward and from the cam surface 63. The arrange ment is such that when the lever 65 swings away from the stationary handle 25 the inner jaw 16 is released to swing away from the fixed surfaces of the stile holding clamp 15. However, when the lever 65 is moved manually toward the fixed handle 25 the cam roller 64 bears against the cam surface 63 to force the inner jaw 16 into clamping engagement relative to the fixed surfaces of the stile holding clamp 15.

Referring now to FIG. 8 it will be noted that the stile z at the sill of the front frame F is of slightly narrower width than the width of stile S. In other cases, the stile S required may be narrower than others. In cases where the stile is narrower it becomes necessary to provide a shim on the face 57 of the jaw 16. Such a shim is provided on jaw 16 by a shim member 67 mounted on the jaw in a manner to be readily available for use.

The shim member 67 comprises a U shaped length of strap metal of a thickness to compensate for the difference in width between the sill stile z and the side stile S. The bight 68 of the U shaped shim 67 is adapted to rest upon the surface 57 and to extend from side to side thereof. The legs 69-69 of shim 67 are disposed against the sides of the wide head portion of the jaw 16 and is pivotally connected thereto by a rod 7d which extends transversely therethrough as best seen in FIG. 7. This rod 70 is long enough to support a collar 71-71 at its respective ends, outside the legs 69-69, the rod 7@ having a head at one end and a nut threaded to its opposite end as shown.

The shim 67 is adapted to be swung from etfective position adjacent face 57 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 7) to ineffective position adjacent face 72 on jaw 16 (FIGS. 4 and 6). T o facilitate shifting of the shim between its two positions the U shaped member 67 is spring loaded and has pin and slot connection with the jaw 16. As shown in FIG. 7 the legs lid-6%" are provided with longitudinally extending slots 73-73 where the rod 7%} extends through them.

Each leg ea-es of the U shaped shim 67 has an outwardly extending terminal end 74-74, respectively. These ends 74-74 are parallel to the collars 71-71 from which a pin 75-75 extends radially toward and through a bore 76-76 in the respective terminal ends 74-74. A compression spring 76-76 circumscribes each respective pin 75-75 and in expanding tends to urge the entire U shaped shim toward a position in which its bight 68 engages the surface 57 or 72 adjacent which it may be disposed. This enables the entire U shaped member '67 to be shifted relative to the rod 70 so that the bight 68 of shim 67 can pass over the inner corner of the jaw ltd. Regardless of whether the shim is in effective or ineffective position, the bight 68 is at all times urged into flush bearing relation with the jaw 16. It will be noted in FIG. 6 that the inner face 72 of the jaw 16 is sufficiently spaced from the fixed jaw 12 to accommodate the bight as of shim 67 without the latter bearing against jaw 12. Consequently even though the jaw 16 is clamped tightly upon a larger stile S the shim 67 is out of the way but available for use should the next stile to be clamped be of the smaller size.

With the jaw 16 open as seen in FIG. 4 and no stile within the clamp it is a simple matter to flip the shim member 67 into effective position by merely forcing the bight around the corner 77 between the two faces 57 and 72 of jaw 16.

In operation the clamping jig and nailer is first placed such as to receive the several sub-assemblies, namely, the back B, end E and front wall frame F of the cabinet parts. As previously mentioned the stil S is rabbeted as at r on its outer edge. A cross plate 84} is secured by welding to the tines 29-73" of the back arm 14 of clamp jig 11. This plate $30 is of a thickness exactly matching the depth of the rabbet r and the front edge 81 of plate 80 is spaced from the fixed fore jaw 12 such as to receive the nonrabbeted portion or side edge y of the stile S. Thus it will be seen that the still S is fit into the jig portion of the clamp ill. and positioned square with the inner face of the plate 55 on fixed jaw 12 and the adjacent right angle portion 54 of the main arm 14- of the clamp 11.

it should here be noted that the clamp side face 82 of the plate (ill bears against the bottom surface x of the rabbet r on the stile S. The plate $0 extends rearwardly sutiiciently to provide an alignment of the rough outer face x of the end :wall E with the bottom x of rabbet r on the stile. Moreover, it will be noted that the clamp side or end 37 of the back plate 36 (FIG. 4) is disposed in the same plane as the clamp side face 82 of plate 8h. Thus it will be seen that the entire end wall E, when engaging faces and 2'57, will be disposed at right angles to the front wall frame F of which the stile S is a part.

The back wall B is then placed against the back edge 6 of end wall E and aligned therewith after which the two levers 42 and 65 are grasped tightly within one hand of the operator. When the two levers 42 and 65 are thus forced together the lever 65 closes the stile clamp 65 upon the stile S. When jaw 16 is thus closed the end surface 5% of the jaw 16 bears against the end wall E and clamps the latter against the plate 88. Simultaneously therewith the operation of lever 42 causes the rods 46 to be drawn forwardly as is the rod 32 to pull movable jaw 13 against the back wall B of the cabinet.

The several parts of the cabinet are thus secured firmly and correctly together within the clamp jig it ready for nailing. The nailer 28 as best seen in FIG. 1 is shown as a well known, conventional nailer of the pneumatic type. Briefly it consists of a cartridge 86 in which a plurality of nails N are stored in parallel arrangement and under spring load so as to be forced, one at a time into alignment with a hammer blade 87. The hammer blade is normally withdrawn into a piston chamber 38 having communication with a pneumatic tube, i.e., a supply of air under pressure 89. The supply of air to the chamber 38 is controlled by a valve (not shown) adapted to be opened by a trigger 99 when the latter is finger operated to force the hammer blade 87 against the first nail driving the latter therefrom into the cabinet members.

As seen in FlG. 2 the plate 843 has a recessed area 91 through which the nail N is driven diagonally into the end wall E. As illustrated in FIG. 6 the nail N is driven through a substantial portion of the end wall and its pointed ends are well embedded in the stile S.

Now as the clamp levers 4% and 6d are released allowing the movable jaws '13 and 16 to open up, the entire clamp ll can be shifted relative to the cabinet C, say every two inches or so. Each time the clamp is thus shifted the levers 4-2 and 65 are grasped to close the two clamp jaws. Then the trigger 90 is pulled to drive a nail diagonally into the cabinet parts as shown in FIG. 6. In this manner, the end wall E is quickly and accurately secured to the front wall F by concealed nailing. Meantime the back wall can be nailed in the usual manner.

The opposite end wall of the cabinet is then joined to the front wall as explained above and the cabinet is assembled. The sill stile z is joined to the cabinet bottom in like manner before the cabinet is mounted on a base so that no nails or nail holes are visible at the front of the cabinet.

Although the nail holes are visible at the end walls, the end walls are often concealed within building recesses or against adjacent cabinets. However, where the end wall is to be exposed, a skin or finished hardwood panel matching the front 'wall is glued to the rough surface X and overlaps onto the surface X of the rabbet r in the stile S. The skin is of a thickness comparable to the depth of the recess r and therefore its outer surface becomes flush (co-planar) with the edge 9 of the stile S.

Having thus described my clamp, jig and nailer in specific detail, it will be appreciated that the same may be susceptible to modifications, variations and/ or alterations without departing from the spirit of my invention. l therefore desire to avail myself of all modifications, variations and/or alterations as fairly come within the purview of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A clamp jig for holding the front, end and back walls of a cabinet incident to nailing thereof together comprising an L shaped frame including an end wall engaging clamp arm ad a fixed jaw at right angles thereto for supporting the front wall of a cabinet squared with the end wall thereof, a movable jaw on the aft end of said clamp arm for engaging and urging a cabinet back wall against the aft end of the cabinet end wall engaged by said clamp arm, a handle extending forwardly from said fixed jaw, a lever pivotally mounted on said fixed jaw adjacent said handle, and pull rod linkage between said lever and said movable jaw for drawing the latter toward said fixed jaw when said lever and handle are grasped in the palm of a human hand.

2. A clamp jig for positioning and holding the back and end wall as :well as the stile of a cabinet front wall for nailing comprising an end wall engaging clamp arm, a front jaw secured at right angles to said clamp arm for supportin the front wall of a cabinet squared with the end wall thereof, a movable jaw on the aft end of said clamp arm for engaging and urging a cabinet back wall against the aft end of the cabinet end wall engaged by said clamp arm, a handle extending forwardly from said front jaw, a lever pivotally mounted on said front jaw and extendin forwardly of said clamp :arm adjacent said handle, pull trod linkage between said lever and said movable jaw for drawing the latter toward said front jaw when said lever and handle are grasped by a human hand, a stile holding clamp jaw pivotally mounted on inner side of said front jaw and having a stepped jaw face for confining the stile of the cabinet front wall within the corner between said front jaw and clamp arm and for urging the adjacent edge of the cabinet end wall toward said clamp arm, a second lever pivotally mounted on said fixed jaw adjacent the handle thereon, cam means between said second named lever and said stile holding clamp jaw for urging the latter into stile and end wall clamping position upon gripping of said levers to facilitate diagonal nailing of the adjacent edge of said end wall to the front wall stile.

3. A clamp jig comprising an L shaped frame providing a fixed fore jaw and right angled arm of the clamp, 21 stile clamp on said fixed fore jaw for clampingly holding the stile of a cabinet front wall and a cabinet end wall adjacent each other for nailing, and a movable jaw on the aft end of said arm for engaging the back wall of a cabinet and for holding the latter firmly against the back edge of a cabinet end wall for nailing.

4. A clamp jig for cabinet parts comprising an L shaped frame providing a fixed fore jaw and right angled arm extending rearwardly therefrom, a movable jaw at the aft end of said arm, means for moving said movable jaw toward said fixed jaw, and a stile clamp on said fixed fore jaw for clampingly holding the stile of a front wall cabinet frame and an end wall of a cabinet in relation to each other for nailing.

5. A clamp jig for receiving, holding and positioning the front, back and end wall of a cabinet for nailing corn prising an L shaped frame providing a fore jaw and side arm at right angles to each other, a movable jaw at the aft end of said side arm, amanually operatable lever on the fore jaw, a linkage between said lever and movable jaw for pulling the latter toward said fore jaw upon op eration of said lever, and a stile clamp pivotally mounted on said fore jaw having a stepped jaw face for clampingly holding the stile of a cabinet front wall and an end wall of a cabinet in relation to each other for nailing.

6. A clamp jig for holding the front, end and back walls of a cabinet incident to nailing thereof comprising an L. shaped frame providing a fixed fore jaw and a rigid clamp arm at right angles thereto, a movable jaw pivotally mounted on the aft end of said arm for movement toward said fixed fore jaw to force a cabinet end wall toward the same, and a stile clamp on said fixed jaw including a stepped jaw pivotally mounted on said fixed jaw for securing the stile of the front wall of a cabinet into the adjacent right angled inner faces of said fixed jaw and clamp arm and for holding the end wall of a cabinet against said clamp arm, and manually operatable lever means on the fore end of said fixed jaw for simultaneously moving said movable jaw and said stepped jaw into cabinet engaging position incident to nailing of said cabinet parts together.

7. A clamp jig for positioning and holding sub-assembled back, end and front walls of a cabinet incident to nailing thereof together comprising a clamp arm and fore jaw providing a squared corner therebetween for positioning the front and end walls of a cabinet at right angles to each other, a back plate adjacent the aft end of said clamp arm having a surface thereon for engaging the cabinet end wall to square the latter with said front wall, a movable jaw pivotally mounted on said back plate for movement toward and from the same for engaging a cabinet back wall and for pressing the same against the back edge of the cabinet end wall, a lever pivotally mounted on the fore jaw and extending forwardly therefrom, linkage means between said lever and said movable jaw for drawing the same toward said back plate, said cabinet front wall having side, top and bottom stiles, and a stile clamp including a movable jaw pivotally mounted on the clamp side of said fore jaw for movement toward and from the squared corner provided by the latter and said clamp arm for forcing the stile of a cabinet front wall into said square corner incident to the nailing of said cabinet parts together.

8. A clamp jig for positioning and holding sub-assembled back, end and front walls of a cabinet incident to the nailing thereof together comprising a clamp arm and fore jaw providing a squared corner therebetween for positioning the front and end walls of a cabinet at right angles to each other, a back plate adjacent the aft end of said clamp arm having a surface thereon for engaging the cabinet end wall to square the latter with said front Wall, a movable jaw pivotally mounted on said back plate for movement toward and from the same for engaging a cabinet back wall and for pressing the same against the back edge of the cabinet end wall, a lever pivotally mounted on the fore jaw and extending forwardly therefrom, linkage means between said lever and said movable jaw for drawing the same toward said back plate to press a cabinet back wall and end wall toward said fore jaw, said cabinet front wall having side, top and bottom stiles forming a door opening therein, and a stile clamp including a movable jaw pivotally mounted on the clamp side of said fore jaw comprising a stepped clamp face for forcing the stile of said front wall into said squared corner and for urging the adjacent edge of said cabinet end wall against said clamp arm in abutting squared relation to the stile, a second lever pivotally mounted on said fore jaw adjacent said first named lever, and cam means between said stile clamp jaw and said second lever for simultaneously holding and positioning said cabinet sub-assemblies for nailing when said first and second levers are urged together.

9. A clamp jig for assembling the front, end and back walls of a cabinet in which the front wall includes side, bottom and top stiles framing a door opening, said clamp jig comprising an L-shaped frame including a fixed front jaw and an integral clamp arm at right angles thereto, means at the angle of joinder of said front jaw and clamp arm for confining a cabinet front wall stile adjacent the later, means on said clamp arm for engaging the outer face of a cabinet end wall for aligning the latter at right angles to and in abutting relation with the front wall stile confined as aforesaid, a movable jaw on the aft end of said clamp arm for engaging a cabinet back wall for urging the latter against the cabinet end wall and the latter into abutting relation with the front wall stile, and means for single handedly operating said movable jaw for clamping said end wall between said back wall and the stile of said front wall and for holding them thus incidental to nailing of said cabinet parts together.

10. A clamp jig for holding a cabinet wall in abutting relation and at right angles to a cabinet front wall stile incidental to the nailing thereof together comprising a clamp arm for engaging a cabinet wall, a fixed front jaw at the fore end of said clamp arm for corner engaging the stlie of a cabinet front wall, means on said clamp arm for urging the cabinet wml into abutting relation with the front wall stile, and a stile holding clamp comprising a stepped faced jaw pivotally mounted on said fixed front jaw for engaging the inner edge and back face of a stile corner engaging the front jaw and clamp arm, and a cabinet wall engaging face at right angles to the stile back f-ace engaging jaw face of said stile holding clamp for holding said cabinet wall in adjacent abutting right angled relation to the front wall stile incidental to the driving of a nail daigonal'ly into said cabinet wall and said stile.

11. A clamp jig for holding a cabinet wall in abutting relation and at right angles to a cabinet front wall stile incidental to the nailing thereof together comprising a clamp arm for engaging a cabinet Wall, a fixed front jaw at the fore end of said clamp arm for corner engaging the stile of a cabinet front wall, means on said clamp arm for urging the cabinet wall into abutting relation with the front Wall stile, and a stile holding clamp comprising a stepped faced jaw pivotally mounted on said fixed front jaw for engaging the inner edge and back face of a stile corner engaging the front jaw and clamp arm, and a cabinet Wall engaging face at right angles to the stile back face engaging jaw face of said stile holding clamp for holding said cabinet wall in adjacent abutting right angled relation to the front wall stile incidental to the nailing of said cabinet wall to said stile, and means on said stepped faced jaw compensating for variations in width of a stile to be engaged thereby comprising a shim strap pivotally mounted on the outer sides of said stepped faced jaw for movement into and out of stile engaging position relative to the stile inner edge engaging face of said stepped faced jaw.

12. A clamp jig for holding a cabinet wall in abutting relation with the back face of a cabinet front wall stile incident to diagonal nailing of the cabinet Wall to said stile; comp-rising a clamp arm spanning the width of such cabinet wall, a fixed front jaw secured at right angles to said clamp arm for corner engaging a cabinet stile therebetween, means on said clamp arm for urging the front edge of said cabinet wall into abutting relation to the back face of a stile cornered between said front jaw and clamp arm, and a stile clamping jaw pivotally mounted on the back face of said fixed front jaw, a plurality of stepped jaw faces on said stile clamping jaw for engaging the inner edge and the back face of a stile cornered between said fixed jaw and clamp am, said stile clamping jaw having an end face disposed to engage the back face of a cabinet wall abutting the stile held by said stile clamping jaw, and manually operated lever means pivotally mounted on said front jaw and operatively connected to said stile clamping jaw for urging the latter into stile holding condition.

13. A clamp jig for holding a cabinet wall in abutting relation with the back face of a cabinet front wall stile incident to diagonal nailing of the cabinet wall to said stile; comprising a clamp arm spanning the width of such cabinet wall, a fixed front jaw secured at right angles to said clamp arm for corner engaging a cabinet stile therebetween, means on said clamp arm for urging the front edge of said cabinet wall into abutting relation to the back face of a stile cornered between said front jaw and clamp arm, and a stile clamping jaw pivotally mounted on the back face of said fixed front jaw, a plurality of stepped jaw faces on said stile clamping jaw for engaging the inner edge and the back face of a stile cornered between said fixed jaw and clamp arm, said stile clamping jaw having an end face disposed to engage the back face of a cabinet wall abutting the stile held by said stile clamping jaw, manually operated lever means pivotally mounted on said front jaw and operatively con nected to said stile clamping jaw for urging the latter into stile holding condition, and means on said stile clamping jaw compensating for stiles of lesser width comprising a U-shaped shim having a b-ight portion adapted to span the stile inner edge engaging face of said clamping jaw and having its leg portions straddling the latter, slots formed in said leg portions, a rod extending through said clamping jaw and the slots in said leg portions, pins extending radially from the outer ends of said rod, said leg portions having outwardly extending terminal ends through which said pins extend, and compression spring on each of said pins for urging said bight portion of said shim toward said clamping jaw and to afford yieldability when said shim bight is shifted between effective and ineffective condition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 451,995 Bradeen May 12, 1891 978,187 Miller Dec. 13, 19:10 1,034,482 Miller Aug. 6, 1912 2,830,296 Guerrant Apr. 15, 1958 2,983,292 McKinley May 9, 196 1 

1. A CLAMP JIG FOR HOLDING THE FRONT, END AND BACK WALLS OF A CABINET INCIDENT TO NAILING THEREOF TOGETHER COMPRISING AN L SHAPED FRAME INCLUDING AN END WALL ENGAGING CLAMP ARM AND A FIXED JAW AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO FOR SUPPORTING THE FRONT WALL OF A CABINET SQUARED WITH THE END WALL THEREOF, A MOVABLE JAW ON THE AFT END OF SAID CLAMP ARM FOR ENGAGING AND URGING A CABINET BACK WALL AGAINST THE AFT END OF THE CABINET END WALL ENGAGED BY SAID CLAMP ARM, A HANDLE EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM SAID FIXED JAW, A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID FIXED JAW ADJACENT SAID HANDLE, AND PULL ROD LINKAGE BETWEEN SAID LEVER AND SAID MOVABLE JAW FOR DRAWING THE LATTER TOWARD SAID FIXED JAW WHEN SAID LEVER AND HANDLE ARE GRASPED IN THE PALM OF A HUMAN HAND. 